Nantucket boys lacrosse is the top team in the state (Div. 4). They showed why on Tuesday.

In the latest Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) power rankings on Tuesday, the Nantucket boys lacrosse sits at the top of the mountain with the premier spot in Division 4.

“We used to be the underdog and look at the number one team saying, we have to get them,” senior Colton Chambers said. “It feels good to be on the different side for a change.”

On the evening of the updated rankings being released, the Whalers traveled on the road to face off against Barnstable.

On paper, it looked like a mismatch as Nantucket entered the contest 8-1 and Barnstable 3-8.

“We were underestimating them,” senior Hunter Strojny said. “We thought we were just going to walk over them, but that wasn’t the case.”

In the end, the Whalers showed why they’re the top team as they beat the Red Hawks 11-4 for their seventh straight win.

Nantucket second half comeback

The game that some may view as lopsided did not start off that way. Barnstable led the entire first half, which included a 2-0 lead after the first period.

In the second quarter, the Red Hawks pushed that lead to 3-1.

However, the Whalers are one of the best teams in the state for a reason. With just a few seconds left on the clock in the first half, Nantucket senior Ryan Davis found the back of the net and Barnstable led 3-2 at halftime.

“We were down 3-2, but we had a lot of good quality shots, we just missed them,” Nantucket head coach Sam Aloisi said. “It's a veteran group and a lot of seniors. They are confident, and they should be. There isn't really a lot of quit in them. They’ve been down before, it was nothing new.”

Like Aloisi said, the Whalers have an experienced group with 10 seniors on the roster.

Despite being down, they never showed signs of defeat. During timeouts, the Whalers players were fired up and looked like a completely different team in the second half.

The Whalers adjusted to a zone defense and turned up the energy in the third period as they outscored the Red Hawks 4-0 and took a 6-3 lead into the final period.

“We were flat footed and kind of thought the win would come to us in the first half, and we realized that wasn’t going to happen, so we had to pick it up and get the juices flowing and score some goals,” Chambers said.

Nantucket ended the game with five more goals, and gave up a late goal, as they flipped the script and outscored Barnstable 9-1 in the second half.

Nantucket keeps winning

The Whalers will look to make it eight in a row when they host Nauset on Thursday. They defeated the Warriors 7-5 back on April 23 in a competitive game.

As the top team in the state, the Whalers know they have a target on their back.

Chambers said the Whalers do pay attention to the rankings when they are updated, but they try to not let it get to their heads, in a negative way.

“We try to get it (rankings) into our heads the right way saying, 'we’re the best and we should play at a high level,'” Chambers said.

Aloisi said that being first in Div. 4 for now is great.

“Everybody wants to be on top, and hopefully we can stay there. Until they take us down, bring it on, man,” Aloisi said.

Moving forward, Aloisi said he is confident his team can keep winning as long as they keep the energy and focus up.

Aloisi said that offensive and defensive possession has them on this win streak, and more importantly, as the top team in Div. 4.

“We really don’t have a weakness. Our offense isn’t the best in the state, our defense isn’t, but everybody is solid,” Aloisi said  “We don’t have any superstars really, which is perfect.”

Barnstable Tough Road

The Red Hawks fall to 3-9, but their record doesn't represent the type of team they are.

Barnstable has played some tough competition so far this season.

“Barnstable is a good team,” Aloisi said. “Their record is not great, but they play a tough schedule, and they’re physical.”

So far this season, the Red Hawks have faced Plymouth South (17th, Div. 2), Cohasset (4th, Div. 4), Nantucket twice, Martha’s Vineyard twice (25th, Div. 3), Silver Lake (30th, Div.2), Falmouth (2nd, Div. 3), Dartmouth (33rd, Div. 2), Whitman-Hanson (27th, Div. 2), and Nauset (6th, Div. 3).

Every team listed above would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

The road ahead does not get easier as they face Falmouth, Nauset, and Whitman-Hanson again. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also will also go up against Sandwich (3rd, Div. 4), Scituate (3rd, Div. 3), and Bridgewater-Raynham (12th, Div. 2).

To sum it up, they have a really hard schedule.

“We’re not shying away from anyone, so we see really strong teams,” said Barnstable coach Tim Flynn. “That contributes to our strength of schedule.”

That strength of schedule still has Barnstable as the 25th seed despite the record, which would be a playoff team as the top 32 make it.

Flynn said the problem so far has not only been the tough schedule, but that the Red Hawks have not been able to stay consistent throughout a game.

“We’ve played with everybody for periods of time. We’ve led good teams, and we beat teams in quarters, we just haven't been able to bring it together for 48 minutes,” Flynn said.

Contact Courtney Jacobs at cjacobs@capecodonline.com . Follow him on X/Twitter: @CJ_Journalist.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Nantucket boys lacrosse is the top team in the state (Div. 4). They showed why on Tuesday.